The varied peoples of Middle-earth at times found unity in their pursuits, and all too often experienced deep rifts. Engage in lively conversations as we banter about the differences between the Alliances, and recruit for our People as well. Remember, keep it friendly.

A suit of clothing? Hm this shape shifting thing is getting complicated!

OK, well, for the sake of modesty, and this being a family friendly site, I'll say yes, Bril is fully clothed. Not sure how that would actually work. The Hulk never seemed to have a problem with it except it being a bit hard on the wardrobe, especially the shirts.

So, thanks SilverScribe for both the welcome and the concern for my health

Bril jumped nimbly to his feet and adjusted his clothing, which always seemed a bit mussed after having served as a wolf pelt for days on end. Picking off a stray piece of briar, he shook his hair out of his face, noticing as he did so yet another member of the guild sitting comfortably on a couch and eying him appraisingly. Bril flinched slightly, instinctively preparing for a smack on the snout as he considered possibly jumping up beside him/her (I'm guessing her due to the sigpic, but ya never know . . . ). He then recalled however, that in human form it would be perfectly acceptable for him to sit on the furniture. At least he hoped it would be. Warily, he approached the soft and cushy looking sofa, ready to veer off at the last moment should the other occupants come out with a loud "no" or "off" or whip out the dreaded spray bottle

Canamarth: I finally figured out how to get an avatar. I went with Beor as it is looking more and more like I am a shape shifter Funny that! lol

Canamarth was transfixed by the wolf's transformation*. "A fully-clothed Brilliant Man coming out of that shaggy dog - fascinating!" -lift of the eyebrow-

She recollected herself as the man named Bril addressed her with a question. "This place? Well, it's a welcoming little hut just outside Dale on the slopes of the mountain and the edge of the forest**. It is usually peopled by the men and women of Dale (very rare these days though they are) and their friends. We are always keen on archery practice, little tournaments (we are actually trying to finish one right this moment but it seems Leoba has vanished into thin air), friendly banter amongst ourselves and making merry - the wine and beer cellars are always well stocked."

The Mistress Archer was watching Bril now slowly making his way over to the sofa. "Sorry, where are my manners? Sit down, please - and would you like some refreshments? You must be exhausted after that ... transformation."

Ah, Beorn is the shape-shifter, though. Beor was the guy who first led a band of humans over to Beleriand. Maybe there's still a chance for a Dale banner... So glad to see a new arrival who immediately mingles with the "crowd". May I ask how you found your way to the boards? I was invited over by a friend quite a while back and while she isn't in more than once a month, I have returned to checking back in 2-3 times per week after a longish absence.

*Maybe I should try that belly rub thing on the dachshund at work more often... And what do you know, it just stormed past my door to greet its favourite professor.

Looks about in an offhand kind of way. "Beor? Oh yeah, I knew about him. I was just testing you.

(Ok I feel pretty silly now Got to go back and read my Tolkien a bit closer, I think )

"Refreshments? Well, I do have a bit of a thirst, come to think of it." Bril replied. "A bowl, er, mug of beer would hit the spot, if it's not too much trouble." He smiled in a friendly way to the guild mistress, hoping his somewhat large and pointy canines weren't too protuberant. As for the invitation to sit, his haunches had dropped just the merest inch when Canamarth had said the word, but Bril stopped himself in time and instead slid onto the sofa, still maintaining a cautious air.

"An archery tournament, you say?" he asked politely, scratching behind his ear absently and wiggling about to find the most comfortable spot on the cushions. "That's a shame. I'm absolutely hopeless with a bow, even though I grew up in the forest. I'm good at tracking though, if you ever plan a hunt."

A slight movement in the corner of his eye caught Bril's attention. A cat had appeared at the door to what was perhaps the kitchen. A low grumbling came from Bril's chest as he frowned at the smug, offensive, self-satisfied . . . With a quick darting glance at the barkeep, who seemed to be actually and incredibly welcoming the presence of the interloper, Bril took himself in hand, forcibly reminding himself that he was once again human. And humans liked cats. Well, most of them did.

"Well, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Bril lifted his head a bit trying to catch a glimpse through the door standing open to the area behind the hall. He didn't see or hear much to indicate a tournament being in progress. The contestants must be exceptionally demure. "if you need to return to it, by all means, do not let me be a bother. I drink out of doors as well as in." And more commonly did, in fact, he thought.

Maybe belly rubs will turn out to be the quivalent of frog kissing. You just have to rub a lot of them to find a prince

And I found out about this site and another LOTR site from a guild member on WOW who had looked at it.

"At your service, Master Bril," rwhen handed a foamy tankard to the new comer. "Enjoy and I would be ready for the arrows flying around here, ya never know. Would you care for some meats?" rwhen held forth a tray of an assortment of beef, pork and lamb...the slabs of bread and cheese made for a hearty sandwich.

"RWHEN..." Canamarth called her friend over.

"Okay, here is your wine and a sammie made by my own two hands, just for you."

Seeing Frelga, Scribbles and Maeglin lounging around, rwhen thought it was time to get the competition underway. Setting off a huge round of fireworks brought Oiy to inspect the noise and all contestants to their feet.

"Oh, you're not interrupting anything, Bril," Canamarth said. "As I said we were busy with the archery competition till Leoba disappeared. And some other folks have gone very quiet as well... Does this reek of some sort of enchanment? We really should go outside and check the others!" She jumped from her seat and ran for the archery range behind the guildhouse. Just as she cleared the corner, a brilliantly dazzling light and loud pops and wheezes greeted her arrival. "Sorcerers! Treachery! Fire!" the Mistress Archer exclaimed and was about to dash back to grab her bow when she saw rwhen huddled over a box marked "FIREWORKS".

"Oh, alright. You got my attention."

We had some hunting activity a looooong while back, shaggydog. We might think about that as soon as we get the archery contest "out of the way". Hope this doesn't take that long anymore. I'd say if Leoba hasn't re-appeared by the end of the month her shot is forfeit and either Maeglin or Frelga will be the winner.

Bril accepted the brimming tankard with alacrity, nodding his head in thanks to rwhen and taking a long slurp of the frothy beer. His attention was immediately arrested, however, by the smell of the tray the barmaid held out for his inspection. His eyes locked on its meaty contents and his nose quivered with excitement, the saliva running freely in his mouth. That half grown rabbit of two days ago had been merely a mouthful for the huge wolf. His stomach growled in anticipation, and he kept his senses riveted on the tray as rwhen set it down and carried a sandwich to her friend.

Inching his way closer to the meat, Bril froze at the sound of Canamarth's voice. "Oh, you're not interrupting anything, Bril, as I said we were busy with the archery competition till Leoba disappeared. And some other folks have gone very quiet as well... Does this reek of some sort of enchanment? We really should go outside and check the others!"

In the blink of an eye, Canamarth was out the door. Gleefully, Bril jumped up onto the bar and grabbed a huge slab of beef, ripping a hunk out of it with his fangs, er, teeth. At that exact moment though, a series of explosions sounded from behind the guildhall. Paniced, Bril leapt down from the bar, the meat held securely in his mouth. The back door gave the quickest means of exit, and Bril ran out in Canamarth's wake, thinking only of finding some dark, quiet place to finish his meal in peace. Rounding the corner of the building, he encountered instead Canamarth, rwhen, and some others gathered about. At his rapid approach, several of them turned their heads to look at him. Recollecting that he had transformed back into human form, Bril slid to a stop and struck a casual pose, smiling in a friendly way, but forgetting to remove the haunch of beef from his mouth.

"Ah, I see you found yourself something to eat," Canamarth smiled at the sudden appearance of Bril. "Now, meet ... lots of pillars of salt in vaguely human shape."

"There is Maeglin, my sweet half-dark-elven knight, who's doing very well in the archery competition at the moment." She placed a kiss on the unmoving figure's cheek. "Even tastes a bit of salt..."

The others one who still have chances in the competition are Frelga, a woman from Rohan, making a nice salt pillar over here, and Ms. Leoba from Gondor who's gone AWOL a while back.

Now, for those who took a part in the competition but seem to have wandered off for the time being: there were Lord Túrin of Minas Tirith (played by Khorazir), Dirk the Daring (played by Smaug's Bane). And Menon from Rohan and Maradir from Minas Tirith were also guests not long ago.

And you have met rwhen and the Scribe already. At least they still seem to be able to move and talk. Guess you met us at a really quiet time..."

Rwhen wondered why it is that once you get some booze into these archer types, they all turn to salt. The old saying is eight hours from bottle to throttle...but this is a bit silly. As she cleaned up the molding food and glasses with dried red wine in them, she noticed the Bril was snuffling about in the grass. This was made even more interesting to watch as he was still in his human form.

"Whatcha lookin' for," rwhen had come up silently as and Elf can do.

Bril straightened and scratched behind his left ear. "Hey rwhen, some eggsies. Yes, I was thinking that in the human tradition of hiding eggs at this holiday thingie, I could scarf me some eggs." Bril brightened, "you want to help?"

"I think any eggs that you find would be left over from last years Easter. Just sayin'. But I will do ya this. How about you and I go and chase some hens around and see if we can scare them into loosing some fresh eggs?"

Bril fell in happily enough at rwhen's heel. The hen house! Now that sounded like fun! The thought of missing out on those year old eggs passed briefly through Bril's pretty much one track mind, and he whined slightly in regret. Eat 'em, roll in 'em, rub your nose in 'em . . . it was all good! But the image of fresh feathered meat on the hoof, er, foot (chickens do have feet right? as opposed to some other word for the pedal extremity??) quickly drove the long hidden eggs from his mind. With a string of drool dribbling from the corner of his mouth, Bril licked his lips and sniffed expectantly for the smell of chicken!

"Okay then, here is the plan. You go around that way," rwhen indicated to her left. It sidled the length of a long wooden building, full to the rafters with squaking (yes I wrote squaking) hens. "I will go this way and lets see if we can meet in the middle and get us some eggsies."

Rwhen set off at a trot and watched as Bril rounded his first corner. The sound of cackling and fright could be heard over the entire archery course. Picking up the pace she turned the final corner to see Bril, in canine form sitting on his haunches, feathers protruding out of both sides of his mouth.

"What did you do? We were coming here for eggs and you ate a chicken." Rwhen stood accusingly with hands on hips.

Muffled "Mo I 'idn't" Bril spat out the feathers and gave the closest approximation to a grin that he could.

Sighing. Rwhen gathered eggs in her skirt and the pair made their way to the kitchens, where Oi was lounging. "Gir yerself out o' me kichen, wench."

Bril moved his chest forward, eyes yellow points in a gnarled toothsome snarl. Oi intelligently left by the side door.

"Oh, thanks," rwhen scratched between his ears, "now that is settled, let us boil a batch of these eggs."

The transformation from canine to human was getting easier for Bril. "Why do you want to go and ruin perfectly good eggsies, rwhen?"

"Friend, it is all well and fine for you to eat your eggs raw, but most of us prefer them cooked in one way or another. For this holiday thing, we boil them, then paint them pretty colors and hide them. I had in mind that if we did this, it might persuade the archers to come back and continue the contest."

Bril had the biggest hang-dog look on his face. A pout that no human could match and her heart melted. "Okay, here are three for you, but take them outside, okay?"

Bril jumped happily about and took the eggs outside while rwhen prepared the boiling water and dumped the eggs in for a good soak.

Hearing a noise at the kitchen door, she turned to see Bril, back in canine form with a dead rabbit in his mouth. The elf just stood and shook her head.

Morphing into a human again, Bril said, "What? Are there not bunnies in the holiday celebration?"

Having consumed his bunny, sans chocolate, Bril felt a familiar lethargy coming over his limbs. Stretching luxuriously, he ambled about until he found a cool, shady spot amongst the roots of an enormous pine. Crawling on his hands and knees under the low slung branches, he turned about three times then curled up between two gnarled roots, falling fast asleep.

It was hard rwhen but I managed to keep my paws, er, hands off your easter loot

*looks innocent but has failed to notice the smear of chocolate on his nose*

After consuming a lovely holiday mean, rwhen saw that Bril had wisely curled up for a long nap and thought that was an excellent idea. She also crawled under the boughs of the old tree and found a spongie moss perfect for her small elvish body, strangely it was right over a large root system that Bril had chosen to snooze in as well. She fell into a glorious sleep and dreamed of the Archers who were all missing the competition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the chocolate on the nose wasn't a give away, the dog breath on the M & M's sure were. Glad you enjoyed your holiday ....

*is glad that rwhen didn't notice that some of the m&m's had definite lick marks on them and were missing the "M"s *

As Bril and his new elfish friend snoozed under the huge pine, his mind relaxed into a state of unguardedness (is that a word? ) and began to run that familiar course. Four powerful legs stretched out in a fast lope, the huge paws eating up the ground as the direwolf closed on his prey. Bril tasted the saliva as it flowed over his chops, his tongue lolling as his lungs drank the air in silent gulps. There was no sound, the forest was unnaturally quiet. Even his prey failed to give off a pant, a squeal, not even the snap of twig underfoot as the two ran on, Bril gaining foot by foot as the trees flashed by.

The smell of his quarry filled the wet black nose and his nostrils quivered with the knowledge that soon he would be tasting warm, soft flesh, the tang of blood and the satisfying crunch of bone and marrow. Muscles flexing and heart pumping, Bril pushed himself to the edge, now twenty paces away, now ten, now five. With a final rush, the enormous beast launched himself in tha air, and as he fell upon her, he realized at the last instant, an instant too late in coming, that it was Madaviel, and her silent scream, her terrified eyes, the paleness of her upthrust arm were the last impressions Bril had before tooth and claw met flesh and bone . . .

With a start, Bril woke from his nightmare, sitting bolt upright and thereby bashing his head into one of the lower limbs of the tree. His heart in his throat, he stretched out his arm, hardly daring to look. But even in the dim light under the branches, he could see a hand, not a paw, fingers and no black, hairy toes ending in cruel claws. And most importantly of all, no blood.

Wondering if this was one of the dreams where he had actually howled in his sleep, Bril peered out from the roots to see if his dream had attracted the attention of any of the archers. Seeing no movement on the lawn, the taut muscles of his neck and shoulder had just begun to relax when his ears pricked. Cautiously. he turned his head to see who or what had made the noise directly behind and slightly above him.

been waiting for some of our archers to return to thread and pick up on your post, Shagglemeister, but didn't happen, so here I go...

Rwhen had been sound asleep when her keen ears caught a whimpering noise. She cautiously split one eyelid and saw that Bril was caught in the grips of some nightscare, but it was still daytime. She thought to gently whisper something that would wake him, but seeing his muscles flex and his face grimace, she wondered if that might not be the best idea, considering. She turned her back to the sounds and just when she thought she would have to poke him with a stick, he jumped awake and hit his head on a low hanging branch.

Closing her eyes tightly, she listened for sounds of the archers or for Bril to leave his comfortable spot. But what her elvish ears heard was a sound coming above Bril. That got her attention, but the sound did not seem to have the feeling of danger to it. So she schooled herself for patience.

The first of the bombs hit with a vengence. Rwhen jumped up and ducked from her soft spot under the tree to stand with hands on hips as three squirrels were lobbing acorn after acorn onto the drowsing Bril. With a yip and a snarl, he also left the confines of the root stem and stood by rwhen.

The squirrels chittered angrily at the pair, scampering first up and then back down the massive trunk of the tree. All this was a bit much for Bril, who morphed into animal mode and attacked the tree for all it was worth. The squirrels having the height advantage, just scurried higher and continued their assault on the now raging Bril. By the time the War of the Acorns had concluded, there were huge gaping scars on the trunk of the old tree where Bril's claws had left furrow after furrow from his attempt to get the squirrels.

Once he gave up and turned to rwhen, he saw that she had been reduced to a pile on the ground rolling in laughter. Bril once again changed forms and dogpiled her stuffing fresh pulled grass in her hair, ears and even some found its way to her mouth. Then Bril pulled himself upright and stoically started to trot away, head held high.

"Ah, come on back, Bril. I think you are the most ferocious of the squirrel fighters I have ever seen. If I am ever facing such a menace, there is no one but you that I want by my side." rwhen added the most convincing tone to her plea.

"Really?" Bril turned to check her expression. "Really, you think I did good?" His body was in man form, but rwhen could almost detect the happy waggle that canines have when being complimented.

"Indeed." All signs of mirth were gone from her face. "Why if you would have only had a bit more length to your already very handsome and long body of course, you would have climbed that tree and made supper out of those squirrels."

Bril strode with pride next to the elf and then stopped dead in his tracks. "You think me a fool, don't you." He hung his head and waited for the reply.

"I think most everyone foolish, my shaggy friend. But never one who fought so valiently on my behalf. Lets eat."

Bril growled fiercely at the TORC server for several days but it steadfastly refused to let him in . . . er, on. Not wishing to do permanent damage to the tiresome thing, he contented himself with lifting his leg . . .

Using a fingernail to dislodge a bit of bark, which had wedged itself in between his teeth during one particularly ferocious snap at the infuriating squacks, Bril thought happily of food. If nothing more could be said for the guild, they certainly seemed to offer an abundance of victuals.

Bril considered, however, that the guild, and its members who had presented themselves to him so far, did in fact offer much more than food. Turning to look at rwhen as she walked beside him, Bril was pricked by a sudden flashback of his earlier dream. The thought of Madaviel brought an intense sadness to him, and a sense of horror. The hair on his skin stood on end as he wondered with dismay if the guild too would be just one more transitory way-place in his restless journey to nowhere.

With a visible shake of his shoulders and back, Bril set his mind to ignoring such black thoughts. His nose twitched at the scent of bunnies still hidden about in the bushes nearby, but he contented himself with remaining by rwhen's side as they walked on.

Canamarth yawned heartily. After a long evening, investigating the possible causes of the other members' inability to move, she had finally given up for the day and gone to bed while rwhen and Bril had continued with talk about chasing hens. Before the Mistress Archer had fallen asleep she had heard a faint cackling from the hen house but had been too exhausted to make sure everything was alright. No amount of poking, teasing or kissing had helped to wake her beloved Maeglin up, so nothing was not alright anyway.

The Mistress Archer looked out of the window. The morning was bright and the fog started to retreat into the forest. The others were still standing where they had left them the day before. Canamarth sighed and dressed in leather trousers and jerkin.

Downstairs she found a basked full of colourful boiled eggs, a chocolate hare and some soggy M&Ms. She opted for the hare and some green tea Oi served in an even gloomier mood than usual. "The quiet getting to you?" The dwarf nodded. "Have rwhen and Bril turned rigid as well?" Oi shook his head and pointed to the forest. "Better see if they're alright," Canamarth said and slipped into her boots. She grabbed her bow and quiver and left by the back door.

She had not gone far when she saw two figures approaching out of the fog. Thank Oromë, they're safe. Canamarth waved at rwhen and Bril and waited for them to join her.

Yes, life has been busy. But I intend to return here as often as I can.

Thanks Canamarth I'll put words in rwhen's mouth (as soon as she swallows that last handful of popcorn ) and say I think she thought we might be going a bit astray from the guild with any RPing here that wasnt in line with the archery competition etc. (If that's wrong rwhen just smack my nose with a rolled up newspaper )

So anywho, well I'm easy (most canines are ) If anyone is up for RPing, lite or high test, here or there, in a box, with a fox, etc, etc, just say the word and Shaggy will come galloping

Hey Shagglemeister. Yes, you had it right the first time, I didn't want to take this thread to have fun when none of the other Archers were being involved and we were sorta just doing our thing by killing off their chickens and such or having Acorn wars. I will start a new RP soon (hoping this week) in the Pony, getting the premise together now....but it will be a fun sort of RP, not all the death and destruction type...

Canamarth and you are always welcome to any thread that bears my name or RP if you would like to join. I don't think it fair that we took this thread, altho I do have to admit, it was the only activity...*shuffles feet and tosses a large stick of wood* So, that said, I am still here as the saucy maiden if ya'll decide to continue with the contest ..

Otherwise, see you on the boards.

*takes stick out of Shaggys mouth and leaves hot popcorn for everyone*

I don't have a problem with you setting up shop here at all, rwhen and shaggydog. As long as I'm here I will manage to get the conversation and action back on archery track once in a while - be assured of that.

But I certainly understand that it's not much fun with just so few of us actually active. The salty pillars are a bit annoying, to say the least. Not that I don't understand real life committments and such. I only managed to revive the old thread after pulling quite a few strings, after all. Most Dalers have moved on and it seems there are not many new ones around. Maybe that'll chance after the film version of The Hobbit.

So, you're still very welcome in here but I'm not disappointed if you prefer a more active RP environment.

rwhen, thanks for the invitation - but I must limit myself to a few threads on the boards and will certainly not be able to get involved in any RPs - as much as I'd like to. Maybe when I have proper Internet access from home one day. But I seriously doubt that I'm in the mood for sitting in front of the PC in my spare time when I stare at a screen far too long at work already.

*crouches at rwhen's feet just barely keeping his haunches on the ground, quivering with anticipation that she will throw the stick for him again*

Thank you Canamarth for the kind hospitality It is kind of quiet in here, but as you say, RL often interferes with the really important things in life

I have seen that you are spread across the boards, rwhen, (figuratively of course, I'm not implying you are a sticky condiment like substance such as honey or jam) If you are trying to put together an RP, I will wait for that (with a minimum amount of whining, I promise) and that way you can concentrate on that instead of trying to keep posting here (other than if the heavens open up and dissolve the pillars back into RPers and the competition gets underway again) So for now I will put all thoughts of Marty Studom and my tragic past aside and simply wait for one of the pillars to move . . .

I always have the time to post in here Canamarth, I would not want to leave the thread, just didn't want to derail it either.

Shaggy, if you would like to email me so I can have your addie to send off the RP that is going to start, that would be great...I am jaycee_davisATmsnDOTcom or just hang in and I will let you know when I have the OOC up and running. Look forward to it.